Press Releases

Frankfurt am Main,
May 19, 2011

Renminbi daily offshore trading exceeds USD 1 billion threshold

Trading in the Chinese currency, the renmimbi, outside China has exceeded the value of USD 1 billion per day for the first time. This means that the trade volume of the USD/CNY currency pair has doubled within the space of five months. Deutsche Bank’s systems handle between 20% and 30% of the world’s offshore renmimbi trade.

Since the end of January, Deutsche Bank has enabled companies to have accounts held in renmimbis, and the bank is currently opening these accounts at a rate of 20 a week. Such renmimbi-denominated accounts became possible in Hong Kong in the first half-year of 2010.

Ardalan Gharagozlou, Head of Global Finance and Foreign Exchange Continental Europe at Deutsche Bank says, “It is above all small and mid-sized companies which have been opening renmimbi-denominated accounts and undertaking transactions in China’s currency. This has had the effect of further accelerating currency trading with the renmimbi. The development gives German companies a host of advantages. They can now conduct business with Chinese companies which had previously had only limited access to foreign currencies, and this enables them to expand their supplier and customer bases. In addition, they have improved their negotiating positions vis-à-vis their Chinese partners because they can now take on risks associated with currency exchange rates.”

The ongoing liberalisation of regulations for the Chinese currency form the backdrop to this development. The very first Chinese companies were permitted to handle overseas trade in renmimbis via Hong Kong in July 2009. By now, almost all business involved in foreign trade are allowed to do this. The international trade with renmimbis takes place via Hong Kong and is traditionally conduced in the currency pair USD/CDY.

Deutsche Bank is a leading global investment bank with a substantial private clients franchise. Its businesses are mutually reinforcing. A leader in Germany and Europe, the bank is continuously growing in North America, Asia and key emerging markets. With more than 100,000 employees in 73 countries, Deutsche Bank offers unparalleled financial services throughout the world. The bank competes to be the leading global provider of financial solutions, creating lasting value for its clients, shareholders, people and the communities in which it operates.